Sopapillas
Sopapillas are puffy fried pastries from New Mexico, cut from a thin sheet of dough into squares or triangles and fried until they puff up hollow like little pillows. People usually tear off a corner and drizzle honey inside, so every bite is crisp outside and gently sweet.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rising or chilling
- 20 min
- Total time
- 1 hr
- Method
- Fried
Ingredients
Dough
For serving
Frying oil
Instructions
Step 1
Mix 250 g all-purpose flour, 8 g baking powder and 5 g salt in a bowl, add 25 g vegetable shortening and rub it into the flour with your fingertips. Coating the flour evenly with fat makes the pastry tender and gives it thin, flaky layers as it puffs. The mixture is ready when it looks like damp sand with no large pieces of shortening left.
Step 2
Slowly pour in 180 g warm water, stir with a fork, then knead gently on the counter for about three minutes. Knead only until the dough comes together, since overworking makes the pastries tough and keeps them from puffing. The dough is ready when it's soft and smooth, slightly tacky but not sticking to your hands.
Step 3
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for about twenty minutes at room temperature. Resting relaxes the gluten so the thin sheet doesn't shrink back as you roll it. The dough is ready when it feels softer and a fingertip dent stays put.
Step 4
Roll the dough into a thin sheet about three millimeters thick, cut it into squares about eight centimeters on each side and cover them with a towel so they don't dry out. An even thickness is the secret to every sopapilla puffing up hollow. The pieces are ready when they're flat, cleanly cut and all the same thickness.
Step 5
Heat to taste oil for deep-frying over high heat to about 200°C, add two or three pieces of dough and keep spooning hot oil over the tops until they puff, then flip and fry for about half a minute more. Very hot oil turns the moisture in the dough into steam all at once, which inflates the pastry. They're done when they're puffed tight like a pillow and evenly pale golden.
Step 6
Lift the sopapillas onto paper towels and serve right away while hot with 120 g honey, letting everyone tear off a corner and pour the honey inside. Hot sopapillas stay at their puffiest and crispest. They're perfect when you tear one open to find a hollow pocket and the honey runs evenly through the layers.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- Deep skillet
- Thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
- Plastic wrap
- Kitchen scale
Tips
- You can dust them with cinnamon sugar, or stuff them with ground meat, beans and cheese to turn sopapillas into a savory dish.
- If they don't puff, check your oil temperature first, since that's the most common culprit.
- Swapping the shortening for lard gives the pastry a more flavorful, flakier, traditional-style crust.
Storage
Sopapillas are best eaten right away, as they deflate as they cool. Leftovers can be kept in a paper bag at room temperature for a day and reheated in a 180°C oven for about four minutes.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The sopapillas didn't puff and turned out flat and hard.
- The oil wasn't hot enough or the dough was too thick. Wait for the oil to reach about 200°C and roll the dough thinner.
- Only one corner puffed up.
- The dough was rolled unevenly or you didn't spoon oil over the top. Roll it very evenly and keep spooning hot oil over it during the first few seconds.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
